Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Toes on Tuesday: a hunter's tale

[Hi buddies: Momma said I had to put a warning notice at the beginning of this postie, because some of you have bun friends, and this story does not have a happy ending for rabbits. But there were no pet buns involved.]

Well, my good buddy Missy Blue Eyes asked Coco about her job as a mole-digger-upper, and some of you might have noticed that one of my jobs is "mouse-finder" and one of Coco's jobs is "mouse-killer." See, I like to find mousies and voles and small rabbits in the yard, and they are really fun to play with, but then they tend to run away after a while. Coco, on the other hand, likes to make things go dead. She is very, very efficient. She especially likes to dig up moles out of the ground and shake them until they go dead. But sometimes we go hunting together, and I will find a mousie or a vole, and then Coco runs after it and shakes it until it goes dead. We call this "teamwork."

Now, Momma laughed and said that doggies are supposed to flush out prey for hunters and kitties are supposed to be Mighty Killers, and that we have it backwards. But then I pointed out that she is always reading things about how Gender Roles and Sexualities are socially constructed (that means that Beans make up the rules themselves), and so doesn't she think that maybe Traditional Animal Roles are the same?

And she said that I am very, very smart.

So yesterday I was playing jungle kitty in the tall grass in the backyard, and I found a small rabbit to chase, and I chased it into the backyard, and then Coco joined in and got it and made it go dead, and Momma was very proud of us. We are a Top Team.

Now, as you might expect, hunting is a very dirty job, so you have to be ready to get your feets extra muddy. Momma said hunters should clean up before they come back inside, so I sat under the hydrangea bush and cleaned up my muddy paws, and then we came inside and got Temptations! So here are Hunter's Toes on Tuesday:

24 comments:

Dragonheart, Merlin, Devi, and Chloe said...

Jimmy Joe, and you and Coco do make a great team! We are very impressed with both of you. We've never chased or caught anything that's alive, since we only go outside on our harnesses.

Mr. Hendrix said...

you do make a great team! i am indoor only, but i remember my days as a former feral, and hunting would have been lots easier if i'd had a team like you!

Mr. Hendrix said...

PS mommy said even if I was allowed out with her she wouldn't let me hunt anything. sigh.

PB 'n J said...

Oh yes, Bert and I team hunt all the time, birdies and mousies mostly! Well done you two!

Daisy said...

Muddy toes are the mark of a true hunter!

KC and the Giggleman Kitties said...

Wow, you two are an impressive team. Rabbits and moles! You are in the Cat Big League. What true mighty hunter cats you are. And a true credit to cats everywhere.
KC and Faith Boo are very, very proud of you.
Love and Purrs,
Missy Blue Eyes

KC and the Giggleman Kitties said...

Oh, I'm very very proud of you as well. Hee hee, forgot to put that in my comment above.
Purrs,
Missy Blue Eyes

Alastriona, The Cats and Dogs said...

I caught a rabbit once, but it made Mommy very MAD, apparently they are on here cute and cuddly list of things I shouldn't hunt. It's ok for me to catch rats, moles, and mice they aren't on Mommy's cute and cuddly list.

~Socks

Hi Jimmy Joe, we are not good hunters. Although Socks is trying to teach us. ~Scylla & Charybdis

ANGEL ABBYGRACE said...

Jimmy Joe
You are a very good mancat hunter! Also a clean one to boot...I say "hi paw" to you.
Purrs
Abby

Anonymous said...

We are very impressed with your hunting skills, Jimmy Joe! Mom is always rescuing what we catch, when she sees us. She's a big party pooper.

Anonymous said...

'cept for frogs. Mom doesn't have to rescue them. We get foamy mouths and spit them our ourselves. ptooie!

Queen Snickers, Empress and Princess Renna said...

What great a hunter! Empress and I team hunt bugs in the house. I'm sure we would do great outside but Empress is not allowed and momma only lets me go out with her watching. ~Queen Snickers

Memories of Eric and Flynn said...

Well done Jimmy Joe. You and Coco are a great team. I am the one who does most of the hunting here. I like to play with my prey, but when it goes dead, I get bored with it and give it to Eric. He usually plays with it then eats it.Last year a bun kept digging under the garden fence and eating all mum's carrots so I caught it for her. Me and Eric shared it. I am guarding mum's carrots again this year.

Mickey's Musings said...

Great teamwork! I do not get to go out :( I bet it would be fun to chase things though :)
Purrs Mickey

Parker said...

Well Jimmy Joe, Mommy feels bad for the bun, but I am impressed! And what a good gentlman cat you are for cleaning up afterwards!

MaoMao said...

You are a furry ecksellent hunting team! I caughted a mousie inna housie but Daddy tooked him away from me before I could make him go dead. Dagnabbit, and I wanted to eat him! (the mouse, not Daddy, hehe)

Kittyhugs and purrs from MaoMao!

michico*Adan*Lego-小芥*阿丹*樂高 said...

I like your toes~~~
That is very very cute!!

Angel MoMo and Charlotte said...

what a great hunting team! I only ever get the odd mouse.

Hey JJ, you sure are smart. I think you should help your mommy defend her thesis.

My SS has recently submitted but life is just as hectic since she has to get green papers to keep us going and write articles, reports and conference papers. I think the whole thing is a ploy not to help me blog :(

The Cat Realm said...

You are a great team, and you are lucky that your Mom is proud of you! When we show our staff our prey that we caught and it is still alive they TAKE IT AWAY from us! They say we should only hunt what we eat.... Do you eat all your prey?
Emil and Mr. OZ

The Cat Realm said...

P.S. We will be deserted soon for the rest of June! We will post about it on Thursday after the peace globe and we will miss you!
Emil and Mrs. OZ

Sunny's Mommy said...

That is excellent teamwork in hunting!

Dr Tweety of da Fab Five said...

Oh we lovez huntin' volezez & molzez in dere holezez! Nuttin' better.
Peacz to you all,
Dr TWeety

Willow said...

Wow, you and Coco are a terrific team of Mighty Hunters! I have never caught anything, except maybe some bugs. I'm afraid of outside though since I've always been an indoor cat.

Purrrrrrrrrrs, Willow

Spike William and Angels China Cat and Willow said...

Hooray for the Mighty Hunting Team!

I was a six month old kitten when my Lap Lady found me outside her office so I have hunted before. I'm very impressed with you chasing a rabbit, Jimmy Joe!

Two weeks ago I found a chipmunk in the screened-in porch and brought it in the house but my Lap Lady put it out the front door. It was still alive and it ran away. She did give me Temptations since she let my chipmunk get away.

Purrrrrrrs, China Cat